Speech team sees big growth in participation

The speech team kicked off on Oct. 13, and speech coach Rob Chagdes said this is one of the very few times the whole team meets during the year. “In speech you never actually get together as a large group.” Instead the students meet in their 12 small groups, “so connecting in some way shape or form is important.” 

The kickoff was led by students who returned from last year. “It’s kind of like an informal leadership team that leads it, and they had the opportunity to come up with their goals for the year,” Chagdes said.

He said the speech team continues to grow. “One hundred percent of the people on the team last year” came to the meeting. Out of the 76 students in speech, 25 returned and 51 students are new. “For us to more than double shows that the students have done a great job making it a safe space.”

Chagdes also has goals for the team in the process of choosing events. “There is something they’re comfortable with, something they are interested in or something they want to try but then also try to push them toward something that’ll stretch them,” he said. 

A phrase Chagdes refers to when helping students pick their focus is “Comfort is the enemy of growth.” Stepping out of the comfort zone is pushed more for students in their second or third year, Chagdes said. 

For newer students, he said the goal is to have fun and learn new things about oneself. The speech team is here to “give people opportunities to find something in themselves they didn’t know was there.”